The present invention relates to a new and distinct perennial variety of Westringia fruticosa, which has been given the variety denomination of ‘WES04’. Its market class is that of an ornamental shrub. ‘WES04’ is intended for use in general landscaping and as a decorative plant.
Parentage: The Westringia fruticosa variety ‘WES04’ is the result of a controlled pollination breeding program from 2004 to 2009 in Cobbitty, NSW Australia. ‘WES04’ is a progeny of said breeding program which resulted from the cross pollination of male parent line Westringia fruticosa ‘x2003.7.5’ (unpatented) and female parent line Westringia fruticosa ‘x2003.7.2’ (unpatented). Controlled pollination of the parents occurred in September of 2004 and resulting seed from said cross was sown in March of 2005 in accord with standard greenhouse propagation practices. In October of 2005, the resulting young plants were transplanted into 10 cm nursery containers and relocated to an outdoor trial area for field observations. Progeny were further observed for desired commercial characteristics, some were subsequently eliminated and remaining candidates were transplanted into the ground for further observation. In October 2009, ‘WES04’ was selected for its rotund (or ball-shaped) growth habit, very compact size, gray foliage color and white flowers. The cultivar was named ‘WES04’.
Asexual Reproduction: ‘WES04’ was first propagated asexually by division in the state of Cobbitty, New South Wales, Australia in October of 2009 and has since been asexually propagated by division through six successive generations. The distinctive characteristics of the inventive ‘WES04’ variety are stable from generation to generation; clones of the variety produced by asexual reproduction maintain the distinguishing characteristics of the original plant.